{"id":6500,"date":"2014-01-31T13:04:06","date_gmt":"2014-01-31T19:04:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artorg.info\/?page_id=6500"},"modified":"2014-11-26T14:53:17","modified_gmt":"2014-11-26T20:53:17","slug":"curator","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/artorg.info\/?page_id=6500","title":{"rendered":"Essay"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\"Phil<\/p>\n
THE BIG PRINT: A CHILDREN\u2019S GIFT TO NORWAY<\/h1>\n

Unlike historical stretches of fabric, this bigger-than-a-
\nbillboard work has no propaganda punch\u2014no hero,
\nno propaganda, no radio station worship. The Big Print
\nfeatures a great chorus of individual voices,
\nincluding performances by Artist Kari Alberg, and Executive
\nDirector of ArtOrg David Machacek. <\/p>\n

Ambitious projects like The Big Print, once finished and
\nlaid out, are at their best when they bear witness to
\nthe benign human impulse to work together to make
\nsomething that is in itself a gift to everyone who sees it
\nin action. In the visual arts, as in bio-science labs and
\narchitecture studios, this is called collaboration. <\/p>\n

The Big Print mixes several kinds of collaborative
\nactivities. The first involves children and adults working
\nside by side to produce some 1500 squarish prints on paper.
\nCarved blocks were ganged together in grid formation,
\nand printed en mass outside with a power road roller!
\nStarting at ArtOrg\u2019s Northfield base in 2008, this happened
\nat more than a dozen workshops throughout Minnesota. <\/p>\n

The second collaboration is ArtOrg reusing the original
\nwooden blocks to print imagery on fabric.<\/p>\n

The third is the finished work, half printed fabric images
\nby amateur artists, half collage-like unfigured fabric
\nareas designed by Kari Alberg. The figurative spread shows
\nthree dancing figures on a rise before with a leaping horse
\nand rider. The horse is decked out with a two-horned headdress,
\nsculpted upright mane and geometricized tail. <\/p>\n

Assembling The Big Print involves strategic placement
\nand joining the blue, red, an yellow squares around the
\ncenter celebration. Bluish squares now exude a scattering
\nof nature images that from a distance work equally as
\nstars, clouds, or snow.<\/p>\n

Point of departure for this grand collaboration is Annichen
\nSibbern Bohn\u2019s 1929 Norwegian Knitting Designs. Reprinted
\nin several editions available even during Nazi occupation
\nof Norway, the horse and rider is a color offset collage on
\nthe cover. Within the book black ink designs on a grid
\nalternate with photographs of collected mittens, jackets,
\ncaps and geometric borders. Driven by a desire to
\ndocument a piece of Norwegian living history, the author
\npresents knitting by hand as a credible contribution to
\nthe European Arts and Crafts movement. <\/p>\n

Annichen\u2019s book illustrates several designs for dancing figures.
\nIn The Big Print we see two females in profile with skirts
\nperforated by unknit squares. They overlap a gesturing male
\nwe see frontally. Figures appear individually or in repeating
\npairs. Annichen does not tell us if these are traditional folk art,
\nor designs invented and imitated during her early years of
\nformal education.<\/p>\n

To contain and transport The Big Print, an over-sized immigrant
\ntrunk is constructed out of wood by Noel Swanson, appointed with hardware
\nforged by Thomas Latan\u00e9, and handsomely painted by noted
\nMidwest artist T. L. Solien.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"cgtn_image-720-72-dpi\"\n<\/div>\n

\n

About the Author,
\nDr. Philip Larson<\/h2>\n